HOST Basic
HOST Basic is an open reference design for a cellulose composite panel. Material-agnostic, works with any cellulose-rich plant fiber. Released under CERN-OHL-W 2.0. Reproducible by any university materials lab, professional workshop, or DIY collective with access to standard pressing equipment.
This is the basic form. The high-performance variant, HOST, is separately held and commercially licensed. The basic form is for the world.
What you make
A flat cellulose composite panel. Stiff. Light. Biodegradable. Made entirely from plants that grew on land, including remediation crops grown on soil too contaminated for food production.
What you need
- Feedstock
- Any cellulose-rich plant fiber. Bast fibers (flax, jute, ramie, etc.) work well; other cellulosic fibers also viable. Phytoremediation biomass is welcome.
- Equipment
- A standard press, any platen press capable of structural composites. University labs and most materials workshops have these.
- PPE
- Standard personal protective equipment appropriate for hot pressing operations.
- License
- CERN-OHL-W 2.0
The basic approach
- Source clean fiber. Cellulose-rich plant fiber from a known cultivator. If you are working with phytoremediation biomass, document the soil profile, that information becomes useful traceability later.
- Prepare the fiber. Fiber preparation is part of the proprietary methodology and is not included in this open reference. Independent researchers are welcome to investigate their own approaches.
- Press. Use a standard platen press at parameters typical for structural composite work. Cool the panel under load before removing.
This is the public reference. It frames the principle, cellulose composites can match structural materials when processed correctly, without exposing the specific optimization parameters that distinguish the commercial HOST variant.
What to measure
- Tensile strength (ASTM D3039 or equivalent)
- Flexural strength (ASTM D790)
- Density (ASTM D792)
- Compressive strength (ASTM D3410)
- Impact resistance (Charpy or Izod)
Publish your numbers. Real measurements from independent labs are how this material proves itself.
What we ask in return
Tell us what you made. Tell us what worked. Tell us what didn't. If you publish your test data, link to it from your project. The reference design grows with every replication.
If you build a commercial product based on HOST Basic, you may sell it. That is the point of the weakly reciprocal license. Modifications to the reference itself must be shared back under the same license.
You may copy, modify, distribute, manufacture, and sell products based on this reference. Modifications must be shared under the same license. Products that use the HOST Basic reference design should reference this specification.
What's separately held: The high-performance HOST variant, including the proprietary processing methodology, is commercially licensed at blacksun.company.